Abstract
Cholesterol is one of the most vital compounds for animals as it is involved in various biological processes and acts as the structural material in the body. However, insects do not have some of the essential enzymes in the cholesterol biosynthesis pathway and this makes them dependent on dietary cholesterol. Thus, the blocking of cholesterol uptake may have detrimental effects on the survival of the insect. Utilizing this character, certain phytochemicals can be used to inhibit mosquito sterol carrier protein-2 (AeSCP-2) activity via competitive binding and proven to have effective insecticidal activities against disease-transmitting mosquitoes and other insect vectors. A range of synthetic compounds, phytochemicals, and synthetic analogs of phytochemicals are found to have AeSCP-2 inhibitory activity. Phytochemicals such as alpha-mangostin can be considered as the most promising group of compounds when considering the minimum environmental impact and availability at a low cost. Once the few limitations such as very low persistence in the environment are addressed successfully, these chemicals may be used as an effective tool for controlling mosquitoes and other disease-transmitting vector populations.
Highlights
A diverse array of tropical diseases is transmitted to humans through infective insect vectors [1]. ese vectors include mosquitoes, sand flies, houseflies, blackflies, tsetse flies, and kissing bugs, which are responsible for the transmission of some of the most virulent diseases in the world [1]
Squalene is first converted to lanosterol, and various cholesterols are produced through discrete reactions. ese cholesterols are either used as precursors for hormones and structural components of the cells and tissues or stored in fat cells in body tissues such as adipose tissue, liver, and gall bladder [32]. e enzyme, squalene synthase which is essential for the conversion of farnesyl pyrophosphate into squalene in this cholesterol synthesis pathway, and at least two other key enzymes, namely, squalene monooxygenase and lanosterol synthase are absent in insects [10, 11, 33]. is is the reason why insects are incapable of de novo synthesis of cholesterol and solely rely on dietary sources to obtain sterols such as phytols, stigmasterol ß-sitosterol, and campesterol essential for the growth, development, and reproduction [34]
Rearing of larvae in radioactive [3H] cholesterol and measuring the level of [3H] cholesterol in extracted lipids indicated that knockdown of the AeSCP-2 gene resulted in 33% reduction of accumulated cholesterol in pupae [40]
Summary
A diverse array of tropical diseases is transmitted to humans through infective insect vectors [1]. ese vectors include mosquitoes, sand flies, houseflies, blackflies, tsetse flies, and kissing bugs, which are responsible for the transmission of some of the most virulent diseases in the world [1]. Ese vectors include mosquitoes, sand flies, houseflies, blackflies, tsetse flies, and kissing bugs, which are responsible for the transmission of some of the most virulent diseases in the world [1]. Among these insects, mosquitoes are the most dangerous group. With the discovery of DDT as an insecticide, vector control became more effective. Is phenomenon in arthropods pointed out the need for more effective new insecticides to be used in a controlled manner preventing any chance of developing resistance. Canadian Journal of Infectious Diseases and Medical Microbiology in mosquitoes with the objective of identifying opportunities and drawbacks of using this method in broadening the tools for vector control
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